Daily Times

Hamid Karzai, who still holds court and considerable sway in Kabul, has recently warned against Afghanistan succumbing to pressure from Pakistan and deplored the ‘unacceptable’ concessions by his successor President Ashraf Ghani. Of course, certain elements across the border are opposed to an improved relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan, especially former president Hamid Karzai and his close aides, who are trying to create obstacles in the normalisation of relations with Pakistan. He had strongly condemned the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries about intelligence sharing and said it was against the Afghans’ national interest. He had earlier opposed President Ghani’s decision to send army officers for training to Pakistan. It was in this backdrop that President Ashraf Ghani reportedly demanded tough action from Pakistan against Taliban militants in a letter seeking greater anti-terrorism cooperation.

Public insinuations by the former president caused a serious setback to bilateral relations between the two neighbours. On June 6, 2015, officials at the presidential palace in Kabul leaked contents of President Ashraf Ghani’s secret letter to Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, demanding the “arrest of Taliban leaders in Pakistan”. In his letter, the Afghan president reportedly pushed Islamabad to extend its operation against the Haqqani network and not allow the Afghan Taliban to treat their injured on Pakistani soil. There was a perception that sharing details of the letter with the media could be an attempt by Ashraf Ghani to respond to harsh criticism by some leaders about the government’s approach towards Pakistan. He asked Islamabad’s civilian and military leadership to condemn the Taliban’s annual spring offensive and reiterated Kabul’s longstanding demand of denying insurgents sanctuary on the Pakistani side of the border.

Pakistan has acted without any discrimination against terrorists in FATA, and the infrastructure and networks of militants of all hues and shades have been demolished. However, with mounting terror attacks in Afghanistan, fingers are pointed towards Pakistan. It is a matter of record that last month Pakistan, for the first time, publicly denounced this year’s Taliban spring offensive, urging the Taliban to cease hostilities and engage in peace negotiations with the Afghan government. Furthermore, PM Nawaz Sharif categorically stated that enemies of Afghanistan are enemies of Pakistan, without any exception. As regards the demand of arresting the alleged members of the Taliban-allied Haqqani network, they can be arrested only if they exist on Pakistani soil. On the other hand, Mullah Fazlullah and his thugs are ensconced in Kunar and Nuristan.

The fact remains that Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and President Ashraf Ghani have more than once appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for having taken action against terrorist groups. But the problem is that the Afghan government is so internally divided and there are many groups on Abdullah’s side who are opposed to talks with the Taliban. On the other hand, the Pakistani military and civilian leaders have thrown all support behind President Ashraf Ghani’s efforts to bring peace to his war-ravaged country. It appears that the Afghan government had pinned high hopes on Pakistan that it would use its influence to bring the Taliban leaders to the negotiating table. Afghan expectations that Pakistan holds the key to end the violence in Afghanistan are unrealistic. A week after leaking the letter, Ashraf Ghani said, “We should open peace talks with Pakistan to encourage the Taliban to come to the negotiation table.”

The Afghan government has to understand that despite allegiance to Mullah Omer, the groups that are fighting do matter a lot and have to be convinced by their leadership. Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and his aides should support President Ashraf Ghani’s efforts to strengthen ties with Pakistan as Afghanistan and Pakistan have shared destinies. President Ashraf Ghani has of course taken steps to address Pakistani concerns about Indian influence in Afghanistan. Relegating India to the periphery of his foreign policy, he sent a group of army cadets to an academy in Pakistan as opposed to India where Afghan soldiers were normally trained and suspended a request for Indian weapons. But this is not acceptable to Hamid Karzai. For his part, Nawaz Sharif has vowed to help target militants hiding out in the border areas, and to work more closely to fight regional terrorists.

“Any effort by any militant or group to destabilise Afghanistan will be dealt with severely and such elements will be outlawed and hunted down,” Nawaz Sharif said. Ashraf Ghani’s demand for tough action against militants in Pakistan has perhaps been made to appease his detractors to show that he is acting tough with Pakistan. Nevertheless, Afghan leaders are mistaken in thinking that Pakistan can force Taliban leaders to come to the negotiating table with Kabul. In fact, any entity that has held meetings with the Taliban, including China, has failed to convince the outfit to join the intra-Afghan dialogue. Many in the Taliban office in Qatar, including its head Tayyeb Agha, did not want Pakistan to be involved in the peace process at this stage.

Having said that, Hamid Karzai is misguiding President Ashraf Ghani that there can never be peace unless all foreign forces leave. He does not realise that Afghan forces are not ready to hold the fort. Even in Afghanistan’s north, which is considered relatively peaceful, the Taliban fighters are carrying out attacks with impunity. President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah can show magnanimity and bring the Taliban on board and they can avert civil war. If they do not do it, the end result could be the disintegration of Afghanistan, as more regional players will jump into the fray to secure their positions. It is, therefore, in the interest of all ethnic groups to find a common ground for power-sharing to make Afghanistan peaceful, stable and sovereign.

The writer is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at mjamil1938@hotmail.com